Jot Thought’s Reviews

A friend came over last winter, and we thought we’d help pass the time until dinner by putting on a movie. We made the fateful decision to play the first Hobbit movie. Our friend had never seen any of the Tolkien-inspired films before, and we assumed that it would be a fun and dramatic watch…

The Extraordinary Life of Louis Pasteur, and the Value of Reading a Translated Biography I had the good fortune, beginning early in life, to have excellent history teachers who knew how to reanimate “the clash of arms and the groans of the slain,” as R.K. Narayan put it once. History always felt alive for me;…

By Navin Living in New York this summer, it hasn’t taken me long to develop subway-fluency. I travel from Manhattan to the Bronx and back each day, and also use the “silver river” (nobody calls it that) to go wherever else my adventures take me. I’ve survived the aftermath of 5 Knicks games, and feel…

By Navin  21-year-old Kane Parsons makes an incredible directorial debut but falls short of his rival: 16-year-old Kane Parsons. That sounds harsher than I intend it to. The Backrooms is a genuinely impressive film. The atmosphere is oppressive, the visuals are striking, and Parsons demonstrates a level of confidence behind the camera that many directors…

Families on the Edge highlights how poverty, social systems, and access to care shape the daily lives and struggles for stability for families facing homelessness in rural New England. Some key words that stuck with me are “grasping at straws,” “good parent,” and “striving for the ordinary”. “Grasping at straws” shows how families make difficult…

A Very Critical Analysis of Bagger Vance  By Jaanu The Mahabharata is a Hindu epic. Like the Homeric legends, it’s full of twists and intrigue, capturing the imagination and the subconsciousness of Indians for much of known history. It’s a story widely known and, despite controversial stories within the greater epic, has many deeply meaningful…

Among Schoolchildren, by Tracy Kidder This nonfiction account is a moving and inspiring portrait of a most noble profession: teaching. It’s an amazing truth that many people often remember their teachers from early schooling all through life. I remember my teachers vividly— many for good, transformative reasons. I recently met an 82-year-old gentleman at a…

Harry Potter Deserved Better By Jaanu Please indulge my inner bookworm for a moment. You may take these musings with a grain of salt, and if you haven’t read J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter franchise, you may encounter spoilers or may feel out of your element. What is the purpose of a great fictional universe? The…

By Navin I told a joke today in a group setting, and the room exploded in laughter. As one friend clapped, and another patted me on the back, I couldn’t help but observe the differences in how each person expressed amusement. The moment sparked curiosity: why do we laugh? And why does laughter make us…

Why the First Jurassic Park Movie Was The Best Allow me to stand on my soapbox as I recreate the exceptional storytelling and originality of the first Jurassic Park movie, directed by Steven Spielberg. It’s a testament to the fact that fancy graphics don’t always make a movie great. I’d argue that the original Jurassic…